Not Unlike You
by Savantageous
Summary: Seen as strange by other humans, a young man is surprised one day to be hosting others whom he can relate to on a similar subject. With friends like these, surely happiness isn't just an emotional concept, but something he can grasp. (Self-Insert, sort of) Disclaimer: I own nothing but characters of my own creation and plot elements of my own design.
1. Chapter 1

Not Unlike You

Chapter 1

" _And you're sure about this?"_

"Honestly, he has enough trouble connecting with family. You read his file. Having someone that can make an emotional connection with him about being seen as...well, different, could be the thing he needs to break out of this routine he's built. So yes, I'm sure."

The phone line went silent as Agent Smith took another look over the files provided about the prospective host family. Two half-siblings: an older sister and her younger brother. The eldest of the two, Hazama Yukino, worked as a Veterinary Assistant after graduating at the top of her class out of High School. Level-headed, patient, a good cook, and protective of her family, no matter where they came from. These were listed as the main reasons she was chosen to look after the second subject under scrutiny.

Adam L. Belmont. At a young age, he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of Autism that made socializing quite the trial. His file noted that until he was 10, he never talked that much outside of his home, preferring to just do his schoolwork, go home, and play his games. Most kids looked at him like he was a freak during his public education; his pale complexion and dark hair making him look "creepy", to quote one of the tamer insults.

Being of American heritage didn't help much with how most people viewed him around town, but he was never really alone because of his sister. She made him feel accepted when no one else gave him the time of day, even with his many eccentricities. Not to mention the family dog – an Akita named Gregory – helped to curb his anxieties as he got older.

Smith couldn't help but think of a few exchange students that would fit in well with these two, but decided that it should just be narrowed down to one...for now.

" _I've got someone in mind, but I'll need you to get him out of the house. She has special permission to look for her own host family, and with what's in his file, I'm sure they'll become fast friends once they meet."_

After a few follow-up questions, Yukino hung up and proceeded to cook lunch for her and Adam. "She seemed certain, but...no. I can't second guess myself now. I already signed the papers, so I just need to stay positive." She paused, staring into the beef stew she had lovingly crafted for lunch. "If not for me, then for him."

Light, almost inaudible steps came from the stairwell to the second floor. He had managed to catch the end of the conversation on his way down; his hearing quite sensitive after a silent hour of meditation. From what he could distinguish, they would be hosting a guest soon. While scary in thought, Adam knew that he would have to try and be cordial with whomever walked through their door. Social protocol dictated many a thing he read about, but barely put into practice. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Adam whispered to himself before entering the Kitchen.

(The Next Day)

After breakfast, Yukino put on her best smile and approached her brother as he was washing the dishes. "Oh dear little brother, would you do your favorite sister a small favor?" With little expression, he turned to her. "Point one: you're my only sister. Point two: sure. I finished my work yesterday and sent the appropriate emails to the editor and chief of staff, so I'm free today. What did you need?"

A few minutes later, Adam (reluctantly) found himself at the local Convenience Store, buying milk and a few other things for his sister. As he exited the store, Gregory barked from next to the store entrance, reminding his friend that he was there. Together, they began their short walk home. Along the way, Adam walked by many people, some staring at him openly, and others just giving him passing glances. He overheard one punk-looking guy whisper something to his over-tanned girlfriend. "You see that skinny motherfucker? Freaky bastard, am I right? I bet someone creepy like him can't even get a boner without some crazy shit going on!"

Switching all the bags to his left hand, Adam put his right hand atop Gregory's head, gently making circles with his thumb. This wasn't anything new. Even back in America as a kid, he was as ghostly then as he was now. Doctors told his father to feed him whatever he wanted to fatten him up, as he had been under the standard weight for quite some time, but nothing changed. His metabolism was too fast for him to hold much fat content for long. Only after starting a workout routine did he start to see a difference, as did his physicians.

Most young men would have been happy showing off a buff physique, hopefully to attract a potential female of interest. But not Adam. The one time a group of girls saw his body in High School had been a trial of confusion for the poor boy. After that, he wore baggy or loose-fit long sleeve shirts wherever he went.

The taunts all faded into the background after a while. Adam rationalized that ridicule was a way for others to mask their own insecurities by lashing out at others, so it stopped affecting him after a while. However, that didn't stop Gregory from sending the couple a stink-eye and growling.

As they approached the last third of their trek home, Gregory stopped and sniffed the air about two steps into a four-way intersection and sat down, refusing to move a step further. As Adam pondered over this strange behavior, he almost didn't notice a tall figure running full speed in his direction. At the last second, Adam jumped back next to Gregory, narrowly avoiding being run over. Panting at the sudden exertion, he looked to who almost collided with him and his eyes widened with a sense of wonder.

She was tall, had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, blue eyes, and a bountiful bosom contained by a white button-up shirt that was sure to make any man weak in the knees. But these were second to what lay below her human waistline. Her lower half was very much equine in nature, covered by a long black skirt.

"Hark! Have I come across my Noble Master?!" Looking over him, the centaur was a little put off at first. His fluffy, unkempt hair covering his eyes, the loose white shirt and blue jeans, and his ghostly skin tone didn't really yell out 'Noble Master' in her eyes.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Adam approached the centaur, hoping to offer an apology for not watching where he was going, even though the girl was in the wrong. "I'm not sure about a Noble Master, but I apologize if I was in your path. I don't get out often, so I tend to lose myself in my thoughts."

Nonplussed at his apparent lack of expression, she put a hand to her heart and gave a slight bow. "Please, it is I who should be apologizing! If thou hadn't the reflexes of a cat, I'm sure bodily harm would have befallen thee." She rose back up. "My name is Centorea Shianus, and I am on a quest to find my most Noble Master, so that I may offer myself to serve them for the rest of my days!" Her proclamation was ended by her holding up a heavy looking broadsword with just one hand. Deciding to play along, Adam cleared his throat before belting out his own introduction with as much feeling as he could muster, which wasn't much.

"Well met, Lady Centorea. I am Adam of the house Belmont, and I commend thee on such a worthwhile journey. Very few in life know where their goals lie, but such passion shows a valiant knight indeed."

Centorea's eyes widen at the mention of his family name. "Belmont, you say? Like the legendary hunters of beasts and the demonic? Tis fate that we meet here upon these crossroads then! My initial appraisal of thee was made by appearance only, and for that, I must apologize further. I of all others should know not to judge one by their looks alone."

Deciding to stop the role-play (and not correct her on the whole Belmont mix-up), he waved her off. "It's fine. I'm not one to get offended easily, though the fact that you admitted to your own mistake is quite admirable. A lot of people could learn a thing or two from you, Centorea."

Before either of them could continue the conversation, a loud thrum of a motor followed by a woman's scream hit both their ears. A man on a motor scooter had just snatched a woman's purse and quickly drove in their direction. Gregory barked and snarled as the man got closer, and before Adam could be hit, Centorea pulled him close and out of harms way, lodging his head between her breasts. Pulling himself free from her grasp, his eyes quickly scanned the mans back before calling out to the woman whom had just been robbed. "Ma'am, I ask that you please remain here with my dog, we shall return with your stolen belongings in tow!" Adam knelt down to look Gregory in the eye while setting the groceries in front of him. "Look after this woman and our stuff until we get back."

With a swift turn, Adam faced Centorea with a spark in his eyes. "Lady Centorea, we must make chase of this unruly thief! May I have permission to mount your back? I won't be able to catch him myself on foot." The centaur was blushing up a storm at this point. Tradition dictated that only the Noble Master of a centaur could ride upon their back, as it was the most intimate of contact between Lord and Knight. But something about his rise to action made her a little less wary of the implications of such contact, helping her to quash the feeling of embarrassment building in her. " If there is no other option at hand, I suppose you may...mount me." And she immediately went red as her words translated to a double-entendre in her head.

Offering a hand up, Centorea hoisted Adam onto her back before galloping after the purse snatcher. In her haste, she almost made the young man fall, but he reacted by wrapping his arms around her midsection and holding on for dear life. In almost no time at all, the pair had caught up to the thieving rider. "Halt villain, or thou shalt taste the wrath of my blade!" Centorea yelled with conviction. From behind her, Adam peered forward and let out his own cry of justice. "No one expects the Belmont Inquisition!"

The thief looked back for a brief moment and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What the hell kinda nutjobs are they?! You won't catch me that easily, assholes!" Running on a curve in the road, Adam leaned slightly with Centorea's direction to avoid falling, but once on a straight path again, he noticed an oncoming obstacle, forcing him to duck behind her back once more. The thief had jumped his scooter over a pallet of water jugs, hoping to create an obstacle, but this didn't deter Centorea in the slightest. With swift hands her sword sliced clean through the containers, splashing both herself and Adam with multiple gallons of cold water. While this didn't seem to affect Centorea, Adam clung tighter to her back, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

As Centorea got closer, the thief saw an opportunity to escape by hopping his scooter down to an upcoming split in the road. Just as they all started to go right, the thief swerved and jumped down to the adjacent road before the guard rail came up. "Hahaha! Try and catch me now, suckers!" He jeered.

"You think you can escape justice so easily?!" With a mighty leap over the guard rail, Centorea landed on the roof of a passing semi-truck, denting the roof before leaping off right next to the thief. With her sword poised at his neck, she prepared to deliver an ultimatum, but a sudden jerk to her side caused her to gasp. Clinging for dear life from her side – with one hand holding her shirt, and the other her skirt – was Adam. The soaked young man had been jarred by the cold water, chilled from the rushing wind of Centorea's jump, and these combined had left him unsteady enough to almost fall off her back completely. His shoes barely just scraped the ground as he tried to pull himself back up, but to no avail. Unfortunately for the two heroes of this chase, the situation did not favor them for a brief moment.

"Lord Belmont, please right thyself, and please cease thy pulling upon my blouse!" But alas, her cry went unnoticed, as Adam was in a slight panic in trying to not become a roadside statistic, which caused him to pull harder on her wet shirt, snapping the already strained buttons and revealing her breasts to the world. The following reactions happened: Adam did not notice as he subconsciously wrapped what he grabbed around him as he fell, rolling violently across the ground to a stop. The thief couldn't believe what he saw and lost control of his vehicle, crashing into a large stack of paint cans at the end of the roadway, near a warehouse. And lastly, Centorea became too shocked to do anything but keep running as she covered her bust, ramming into the warehouse itself.

The impact shocked her out of her stupor, but she winced from a large bruise forming on her right bicep, apparently having taken most of the force at the end of her charge. "Never have I been so humiliated. My judgment of your character was doubly false, and my blade shall ring across your-" She reached for her sword, but only grabbed the sheath. Hearing something dragging across the ground, she turned her head to find the thief, holding her sword with an angry scowl on his face.

"You stupid bitch. I would've just taken the money and been on my merry way, but you and that guy had to get in my way. Damn the law, I'm turning you into glue!" With a slow but mighty swing, the sword descended upon Centorea. Her eyes closed in fear, anticipating her end, but it never came. A sound of metal hitting metal met her ears, and she slowly opened her eyes to see Adam – covered in bloody scrapes and bruises – standing above her with a paint can, dented from blocking the sword.

The thief gawked at him for a moment before trying to pull the sword back for another swing, but couldn't, as the sword became stuck in the dented-in can. Adam leveled the man with a hard stare. "This doesn't belong to you." Adam whispered before pulling the can and launching the sword off to the side, making the thief lurch because of the unexpected force used. Turning back toward Adam, he only saw his pale-eyed opponent for a split second before he was launched by an upward palm thrust to the chin, his bike helmet doing nothing to soften his impact with the ground after.

Centorea couldn't believe what she had seen. This pale, unassuming young man had just risked his life to keep her safe. In her eyes, he truly lived up to the legendary name of Belmont. So caught up in her fantastical thoughts, she almost didn't notice when he collapsed to the ground in front of her. Momentarily forgetting her modesty, she uncovered her bust to reach out both hands to inspect the fallen warrior.

Adam's body had taken a lot of surface damage from his fall, and one or two of them were deep in his back, bleeding quite a lot from the stress of defending her. Suddenly, sirens were closing in. Law enforcement, no doubt having been called because of the ruckus caused by the chase. Seeing her shirt hanging off one of his shoulders, she quickly put it back on.

Two police cars arrived on the scene and saw a Centaur woman cradling a ghostly young man in her arms while an older human man lay unconscious a few feet in front of them. The lead officer approached Centorea. "Ma'am, could you tell us what happened here?"

(2 hours later)

After giving her testimony to the officers on the scene, and telling them about the woman whose purse had been snatched, Adam was rushed to the nearest hospital, with Centorea hot on their heels.

After having his wounds treated – the heavier ones being stitched up – Adam was allowed visitors. Surrounding his bed were Yukino, Miss Smith, Gregory, and Centorea. Yukino looked equal parts angry, happy, and scared all at once. Miss Smith remained neutral. Gregory stood on his hind legs, planting his front paws on the rail of the bed to look at his best friend. Centorea gazed down at Adam's still form; his breathing remaining steady, despite his injuries.

Yukino cleared her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. She looked to Centorea with teary eyes. "The police told me that he saved your life AFTER sustaining all these wounds, like someone on an adrenaline rush. He selflessly put himself in harms way again...for you. I'm not mad at you or him. I just wish that he would stop running into peril without thinking all the time."

Centorea looked confused by her wording. "What dost thou mean? I'm afraid I don't quite comprehend." With a heavy sigh, Yukino decided to tell her a little about her brother. "After an incident when he was younger, he became easily sidetracked by the idea of helping those in need, but unlike before prior events, he didn't always think things through. He graduated High School in America when he was 13, so he was quite a bit younger than most of his classmates. In his final semester, he would come home bloody and bruised, saying that some guys were harassing his female classmates, or his friends were being bullied. His cousin was worried sick every time, but told him to hold onto those feelings, because that was what it meant to be..." Yukino went silent. Shaking her head, she leveled a hard (but not angry) stare at Centorea. "Anyway, if you're going to be under our roof, you'll have to look after each other. Which means you'll have to protect him just as much as he protects you, and hopefully you can keep each other out of trouble...for however long that lasts." Yukino mumbled the last part to herself.

Looking down upon her savior's sleeping face with a hint of red in her cheeks, she put a hand to her heart and spoke with conviction. "I swear upon the name of my ancestors, that I, Centorea Shianus, shall do my utmost to serve my Noble Master, until death do us part."

With a small smile, Yukino looked to Smith, who gave her a thumbs up. "Alright then. But before anything else, we need to go over some house rules."


	2. Chapter 2

Not Unlike You

Chapter 2

Other than the injuries he sustained, Adam was told he was perfectly healthy, but would have to stay overnight so his body could rest and heal faster.

After waking up, Yukino and Gregory doted on him for a while before heading home, making a promise to cook something nice once he was on his feet. This left Agent Smith, Adam, and Centorea in the room, and Smith looked like she had something important to discuss.

"Well kid, you sure know how to get mixed up in trouble, but you're not out of the woods yet." With that open statement, Smith put two things on the bedside table: A stack of official-looking documents, and a thick booklet which read 'Interspecies Cultural Exchange: Laws and Regulations'.

"As the current head of the house and your guardian, your sister already signed everything, but I still need your signature in a few places to make sure that you know about your responsibilities as a host."

Silently, Adam gestured for a pen and was guided through the documentation, page by page. Taking another look over every paper, Smith nodded in confirmation. "Alright! Everything seems to be in order now, so I'll just take my leave so you two can get to know each other better." She walked out the door, but immediately popped her head in for one more comment. "And I'd give that rule book a thorough read, if I were you. Wouldn't want you to go breaking any rules and causing any more trouble for your sister, now would you?" With that last jab, Smith took her leave.

Adam looked to the booklet, then to Centorea before addressing his conundrum. "Would you consider it rude if I just did a little reading before we start talking?"

Centorea shook her head. "Of course not, Master. If we are to be living under one roof, we should try and be aware of more than just 'house rules'."

He nodded in affirmation. Figures that Yukino would give her the rundown on basic home etiquette.

15 minutes later, Adam closed the booklet with a loud clap, startling Centorea out of a trance she had put herself in while inspecting her sword.

"Well that was pretty 'cut and dry'. Most of these rules are just common sense, but I can see the need to write them down for the long term." Adam sighed, looking to his new companion. "I'll start. My name is Adam Lavender Belmont. I like learning things, practicing Tai Chi, and I hate large crowds and staying out in public places for long periods of time."

He snapped his fingers and pointed in her direction. "Your turn."

Centorea immediately straightened her posture. "Of course! My name is Centorea Shianus. My friends call me Cerea. Swordsmanship is my passion, my dislikes are little to mention, and I shall devote myself to you until my final breath, as you are my Noble Master!"

"Very well." Adam rolled his neck around to work out the stiffness. "Now before we continue, did the Physician in charge of my case say how deep the wounds on my back were?"

Caught off guard, she hesitated at first before answering him. "He said that they were no more than one centimeter deep before sewing them up. But pray tell, why?"

A small smile graced his lips. "Because I think it's almost time for us to head home."

(1 Hour Later)

Centorea came rushing out of the hospital room. "Doctor! Lord Belmont has disappeared from his room!" A passing nurse was surprised by her outburst and came to investigate. Seeing the room empty, the nurse immediately paged for the doctor in charge of Adam's recovery. While all this was going on, Centorea slowly began to head towards the front entrance. Before she could make it through the automatic doors, a nurse approached her. "Excuse me ma'am, but you wouldn't happen to have any idea where the patient may have gone, would you?"

With rosy cheeks, Centorea shook her head negatively. "I'm afraid not. We only just met, and his personal habits are unknown to me." The nurse sighed in frustration, thanked the centaur, and then left to continue searching.

After walking for quite some time, Centorea cast an embarrassed gaze downward, toward the underside of her lengthy skirt. "Master, we've made...quite a fair bit of distance from the hospital. Could you please come out now?" She whispered as the black fabric shuffled in disturbance.

Slowly, a fully redressed Adam crawled out from underneath the blushing knight. Carefully stretching his back, he stood with that same smile from earlier on his face. "For a moment, I almost thought you didn't have it in you to deceive others. Well done, Cerea. Looks like I have quite the capable knight at my side." While all this was being said, the poor girl couldn't get her cheeks to stop flaring up in embarrassment.

 _'But why did it have to be under my skirt?'_ She thought as Adam tried to hoist himself up on her back, failing to get his legs up and just lying with his arms hanging over her opposite side, his stomach on the middle of her equine back. To Centorea, he reminded her of a cat, lazily lying on a tree branch the wrong way.

Just as Centorea began to walk, Adam slid off her back. Looking behind in confusion, she jumped slightly when he walked up and grabbed her hand. "I'm not sure how long you've been around town, but I am positive that you don't know the way to my house. I'll guide you, so don't let go until we get there. You don't want to get lost around here." Adam said with a straight face.

Unbeknownst to our oblivious protagonist, his knight was now blushing so hard that you could roast marshmallows on her cheeks. The trip from then on was silent, as poor Centorea couldn't think straight with such intimate contact at play. Her whole life had been about holding up an image of strength and nobility, and any fantasy of being romantically involved with someone was quelled by her ideal image of knighthood, leaving her emotionally confused and socially awkward outside of her home. All of this had been calculated to a T by Smith, knowing that the result would be both a learning experience and a chance for growth on the part of both youths.

By the time Adam had guided her to his home, Centorea's mind was adrift with strange fairy tale scenarios, completely ignorant of the fact that the house was being remodeled before both their eyes.

Adam's eyes went wide, but his voice indicated no discomfort or apprehension, as he had read in the booklet that any host household was subject to remodeling for the sake of their homestay guest.

"Let's get started with the tour, shall we?" Though he sounded level-headed, inside his head was a veritable storm brewing. He didn't like immediate change. Over a slow course of time, sure, but not this fast!

After releasing her hand, Centorea came to her senses. But before she could ask any questions about why their shared abode was being remodeled, she had to catch up to Adam as he already made his way through the front door and took his shoes off. Hearing the clip-clop of hooves, Yukino came out to see her little brother and their guest in the foyer. With a frustrated sigh and her left palm meeting her face, she just waved her other hand toward the kitchen. With her back to them, she began to prepare a salad for the side of her Baked Chicken Breasts and Loaded Baked Potatoes.

"I knew you wouldn't sit still for long, but I was hoping you'd stay away for a little longer so these guys could finish working without you freaking out. Color me impressed that you're not being passive-aggressive toward anyone." Yukino had a smug grin on her face as she noticed the slight twitch in Adam's right eyebrow. Clearing her throat, she gave the two a rundown on the state of the house.

"Unfortunately, if you wanted to tour the house, it'll have to wait. The construction won't be done for another two hours, and the chicken still needs a little longer to cook. So since there's still some daylight out, why don't you two go on a short walk around town, and then you can come home for a good meal and a...slightly better looking home."

Without a word Adam began his march back toward the door, with Centorea following shortly after.

Their jaunt had brought them both back into town. As they walked the busy sidewalks, Adam noticed people failing to hide their quiet conversations, staring at him and Centorea. This would make sense, as there weren't many extra-species out and about, so the stares were not surprising. Centorea took it all in stride, but Adam was another story. As the whispers became louder, phones were being pulled out to take pictures of the two, and having so many eyes on him was more than disturbing to him. He froze, couldn't move another step, with breath hitched and wide eyes. Only a few paces ahead of him, Centorea turned her head to see her Master standing stock still as people began to close in around them.

"Prithee Master, what is wrong?" Centorea spoke, but received no response. Facing Adam completely, she put her hands to his shoulders, hoping a light shake would rouse him from his panic induced trance. That was when she felt it. He was shaking like a massage chair on steroids, his social anxieties keeping him rooted to the spot. Not knowing what to do, Centorea did the first thing that came to her without thinking. With little effort, she picked Adam up in a bridal carry and pushed through the small crowd before running as fast as she could back home.

Yukino had finished sooner than expected with dinner, and the salad looked absolutely phenomenal, in her opinion. Just as she finished sprinkling lemon juice on the chicken, Yukino heard the new front doors slam open, followed by a cry of "Lady Hazama, please come quick!".

With haste, Yukino rushed to the foyer. What greeted her was her little brother held in the arms of their house guest. Adam's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and his arms were tightly locked around the humanoid half of Centorea, refusing to let go, and his shaking had subsided only barely.

"Oh no. Quick get him to the couch in the living room, down the hallway to the left of the stairs, second door on the left!" Yukino instructed. Centorea was quick but careful in her rush.

A few minutes later, Adam was laying down, asleep on the living room couch with Yukino stroking the top of his head.

"I suppose you're wondering what happened?" Centorea didn't want to come off as too forward, but she did, and only gave a nod in response. Yukino let out a weary sigh. "Ever since I can remember, he's been strong in the face of ugly words, but having a lot of eyes on him is a different story. Until he gained some muscle, everyone looked at him like he was...unnatural. Dark hair, perpetual dark circles under his eyes, pale skin. One old woman screamed about the Grim Reaper before throwing rocks at him once." Removing her hand from his head, Yukino turned to look Centorea straight in the eyes. "This was one of the reasons I signed us up for the exchange program. He grew up being seen as different, and he needed a friend who could relate to that. So can I count on you to not only be his knight, but his friend too? Please?"

Ever since their existence had been made public, most extra-species who weren't "vanilla" in appearance were looked at with eyes full of fear and loathing. Even centaurs weren't immune to these stares. So this was a situation that Centorea could relate to. Taking Yukino's hands in her own, the blonde knight gave her a solemn vow.

"As long as I shall be by his side, Lord Belmont will never know a day without companionship. On my name, I swear."


	3. Chapter 3

Not Unlike You

Chapter 3

The day after Adam's freak-out, He awoke to a remodeled home, to which Yukino gave both him and Centorea the grand tour. The only real changes to be seen were two things in particular: the doorways had been heightened and widened, and the bathroom had been expanded to accommodate larger bodies, almost making it into a shallow swimming pool in Adam's eyes.

New furniture was being considered by Yukino, but Centorea insisted that she didn't want any special treatment. On the note of special treatment, Ms. Smith had caught wind of Adam's public breakdown through pictures all over social media outlets and had called Yukino after analyzing what she had found.

" _Honestly, I'm not surprised this happened. I AM surprised that it happened so soon. So if it makes you feel any better, I won't bug you guys about going out on the town with Centorea like I do everyone else for a bit. Just make sure that he's...stable, and try to get him out again when he seems ready. I'd ask YOU to take her out, but you have a job that keeps you away from home on most days. Have fun, and make sure that no funny business happens between those two. Bye!"_

After hanging up, Yukino scoffed and looked up at the ceiling from her seat on the couch. "Ha! As if. He may be a genius, but his libido is non-existent, lady." She sighed to herself. "But she's right. I need to make sure he's not gonna blow up or anything before I let him out again." She looked to her left. "Which is why the next few days will be you helping to keep him comfy until the apocalypse is guaranteed not to happen. You understand Cerea?"

Just as the aforementioned centaur was going to proclaim her loyalty once more, Yukino put her hand up to signal a need of silence. "And I get the fact that you're pretty much gonna be attached at the hip to him, so just a simple nod will do, capiche?"

Centorea blushed at being called out for her knightly enthusiasm, but nodded none the less.

Yukino smiled in satisfaction. "Good. Though I will warn you now: Adam grew up around a copious amount of dogs, so you may notice some odd...habits here and there."

Centorea couldn't hide the confusion on her face and asked the one question that would lead to her downfall. "And by 'habits', what should I expect of my Master?"

(The Following Day)

 **7:30 AM**

"Okay you two, I'm headed to work!" Yukino yelled upstairs. "Breakfast is ready and on the table, so come and get it before it gets too cold! Also, keep the house looking good until I get back, and don't forget to let Gregory out!"

After closing the door, Adam rushed downstairs, smelling the telltale signs of bacon. Centorea followed slowly behind him. In his haste, Adam tripped on the last two steps and fell, rolling into the foyer with all the grace of a drunk sea lion.

Before Centorea could come to his aid, Adam rose on all fours and ran like a dog into the kitchen. While perplexed, she just followed along like nothing was wrong, realizing that this might be one of those 'habits' that Yukino mentioned.

 **8:00 AM**

After breakfast, Centorea excused herself so she could get cleaned up for the day ahead.

Unbeknownst to her, Adam was only half listening, and after giving himself a once-over sniff, he decided to join in as well, not wanting to leave the house awash in his 'funk'.

Centorea had sat down and began to rinse her hair with one of the detachable shower heads on the wall when she heard a soft padding of paws join her in the washroom. "Ah, tis only Sir Gregory. Though what a canine would want in here leaves me baffled." Reaching for the shampoo, she heard someone sit on the stool next to her, causing her to turn and find Adam rinsing his head as well.

"I'd think he would be in here for the same reason as you or I. Also, when you're done, could I get the shampoo from you?"

In shock, Centorea immediately brought her arms around her bosom, trying to protect her modesty. "Lord Belmont! What art thou doing in here?! I am not decent in the slightest, and it is unbecoming of a knight to appear before their lord in such a manner!"

Adam just shrugged while looking her directly in the face, his eyes never wandering. "It only seemed logical to me. As we haven't really gotten to know each other outside short conversations, I thought that the bath would be a good place to start." Snapping his fingers, Gregory came to sit between the two, ready for a rinse and wash of his own. "In my eyes, Cerea, when naked, you have nothing to hide from the world. You can be as honest and open as you want without the fear of judgment, as most clothes would cover you up and keep the true you from being visible to those you are close with."

His words struck a cord in her, and the fact that he kept his eyes locked on hers the entire time was surprising to say the least. But even though he seemed honest in his statement, she couldn't help but still have her cheeks stained pink while removing her arms from her chest. "Very well milord. But next time, wouldst thou please announce thyself before entering. It's still a bit embarrassing to be seen like this."

Nodding in affirmation, Adam went back to rinsing his head before doing the same for Gregory. Once they were all clean to their satisfactions, one by one they entered the bath. Instead of sitting on the bench at edge of the bath, Adam let his body sink to the bottom of the tub, until only the top half of his face was visible. Gregory just sat on the bath bench and watched his friend relax.

While she was learning a little more about how her master thinks, Centorea couldn't help but sink deep into the bath as well, hoping to conceal her breasts. Thinking back a few minutes, Adam's eyes never once glanced at her breasts. This perturbed her for some odd reason. She had learned that most men couldn't help but stare when it came to women with larger chests. But this begged the question: Did he not find her attractive? After thinking this, Centorea shook her head, wondering where such thoughts could come from.

Coming up for air, Adam saw Centorea debating with herself internally and decided to sit next to Gregory and engage his new housemate in some inquisitorial banter.

"So Cerea, are you enjoying your stay so far?"

Centorea looked up at hearing her nickname. "Verily Master. Yourself and Lady Hazama have been most gracious hosts, though I should apologize for not leading you away from that crowd from before. Had I known your reaction to be so severe, I would have leapt into action sooner!"

Adam spread his arms behind him on the bath's edge, sighed, and looked toward the ceiling. "Yes, but you didn't know. I only gave you a small snippet of a bigger personal problem, back when we were still in the hospital. I didn't think it was a problem worth worrying about."

To Centorea, he sounded like he was waving it off as 'no big deal', but this only agitated her. "What? Forgive me Master, but from what I saw, it most certainly is something to worry about! Why did you not divulge such important information earlier?"

Shrugging and folding his arms, he only replied loud enough to barely be heard. "I just don't like talking about myself. I'm no more important than anyone else. If anything, I question why you would devote yourself to someone as freakish as me."

Not liking where this was heading, Centorea lifted herself up, leaving only her equine half underwater, and walked over to face Adam directly. Standing at her fullest height in front of him, she forgot her embarrassment for a brief moment and pulled him into a hug, his head being made to rest above her bosom. "Centaurs do not choose their masters solely on merits of beauty or strength, but of action. You went out of your way to mete out justice on behalf of someone else, and though you were injured, you defended me in my moment of weakness. I could see no one else to be fit enough to be my Noble Master."

Sighing in resignation, Adam returned the hug. And though his face didn't show it, on the inside, he felt uplifted by his new friend and her kind words. What's more, he could hear her heartbeat, and it was quite soothing, in a way. But the moment was over after Centorea realized what she was doing. She walked backwards and submerged herself as low as she could go, her face as red as a cherry. This caused Adam to chuckle, and Gregory decided to swim circles around the embarrassed centaur, for reasons no one could guess.

 **8:45 AM**

After the bath, the three of them had separated to do their own thing for a while. Adam had decided to check his email for new assignments from the magazines he wrote and translated for. Centorea had let herself out to the backyard, hoping to do some training and polish her sword. Gregory, with nothing else to do, followed his house guest outside and laid down on the back porch.

Centorea swung her sword with a grace that spoke of years of diligent training and effort. On a final thrust in her practice, she couldn't help but think something felt off. Her hoof placement was as steady as always, no wasted movements in her arms, and her breathing remained steady the whole time. So what could it be that bugged her so?

Sitting down next to Gregory on the porch, she began to polish her sword and let her mind wander. She thought back to the time they all shared in the bath earlier, and then it hit her. Adam's eyes had never wandered to her body, always keeping eye contact. While polite, this struck a nerve in the centaur.

Gregory could smell the distress in her thinking and lifted his head with a grunt to look at Centorea.

Sighing, Centorea looked back at Gregory. "I am unsure why it bothers me that Master didn't look at my body. If anything, he should be commended for his etiquette. But this feeling is problematic. It distracts me and makes me second guess myself. What do you think Sir Gregory?"

The dog only tilted his head in confusion before rolling over on his back, demanding belly rubs. Chuckling at his response, Centorea obliged. "Perhaps I am just overthinking on the circumstances surrounding us. Thank you Sir Gregory. Truly, you are a wise canine."

The dog only grunted in satisfaction, Centorea's soft hands making circles in his fur.

Meanwhile, Adam had been sifting through his emails, but came to one under the subject of "Notice Of Termination". Disturbing was a word that came to mind as he opened and read it to himself.

 _Dear Mr. Belmont,_

 _We regret to inform you that as of this week, you are being let go. You have been a valuable asset to the company, but what you've contributed doesn't seem to resonate well with more of our readers as of late. Please be aware that your final paycheck has been wired to your bank account, and we wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Taro Kimura_

Looking further down his inbox list, he found several emails, all saying similar things. Adam couldn't believe his lack of luck. Every single company he had been working for or with had decided to kick him to the curb. Sure, he wasn't hurting for money and wouldn't be anytime soon, but it still stung.

He began to feel something he wished he couldn't, but it persisted, and he felt the tears slowly fall down his cheeks.

Making his way downstairs, Adam sought the comfort of his loyal sidekick Gregory. Walking toward the back, he found Centorea polishing her sword with Gregory by her side. He wordlessly sat between the two. It took a few seconds, but after seeing the tears, Centorea and Gregory wrapped their friend in a warm embrace.

Centorea didn't have much experience in consoling others, but from what she'd seen and read growing up, a hug was almost always a good start in any path to emotional recovery. But something was off. Adam was shedding tears, but she couldn't hear any sob or slight choking of breath. Then she remembered back to something Yukino had told her the day before.

(Flashback!)

"As far back as I can remember, Adam's always functioned on logic over emotion. He always found reason to why he wasn't allowed to do certain things or couldn't have everything he wanted. While bizarre, it made dealing with him easier, especially when he misbehaved. So don't assume he can't feel emotions because of his stoicism. His feelings are still there, just more...subdued."

(Back in the Present)

Thinking back to when they met, Centorea saw a small amount of determination in his eyes before they gave chase to that purse thief. His smiles were there throughout their short discussions, just not immediately noticeable to those unfamiliar with Adam's personality. To note, he had chuckled at her embarrassment earlier in the bath. Centorea wondered if her Master was truly as subdued as Yukino had described.

Unnoticed by the centaur – whose thoughts kept her busy – Adam had leaned into the hug more after feeling how warm Centorea truly was. Sharing this trait with horses, centaurs had a higher base temperature in body heat to help combat harsh winters or freezing rain. Being sensitive to the cold, Adam naturally tried to snuggle deeper into this new heat source.

 **9:54 AM**

After Gregory woke Centorea up from her train of thought (with repeated headbutts to the side of her horse half), she managed to dislodge herself from the hug, albeit with some effort due to Adam being stronger than his thin frame appeared.

"Master. With your new lack of employment, I feel I should ask: what shall you do with your free time , if not searching for a new source of income?"

A simple question, but not one Adam could answer off the top of his head. Pacing back and forth, he thought of all the free time he now had to pursue new hobbies or areas of study. So many possibilities, but where to start?

 **10:15 AM**

The three housemates relocated to the living room, and Centorea had let her hair down on her Master's command. When Adam was younger and had met his half-sister for the first time, he had spent many of his mornings before school brushing her hair, saying that it provided him a sense of zen. Adam speculated that doing the same for his new friend might help him straighten out his train of thought.

Sitting upon the back of her other half, he ran a brush gently through her golden locks. The light from the window made every single hair glint like untarnished treasure. Adam couldn't help but wax poetic. "Like cascading waterfalls of gold. You must have made plenty of girls jealous back home."

Centorea blushed at the compliment. "T-thank you Master, but you are mistaken. Others jealousy came from my mastery of the sword. My mother made sure that not even the strongest male centaurs could stand against my blade. Which would explain why I had no suitors try to vie for my attention."

Adam couldn't help but wonder about centaur society. "Hmm. Well I'm sure that there were plenty who admired you, but they were probably scared of you kicking the crap out of them at the slightest provocation. Yukino was the same way when she was younger. My cousin Zack was the opposite after he joined the military. Men and women looked at him like he was a Demi-God, and he may as well have been. He forged a Buster Sword and preferred that over any gun. In fact, the only gun he ever carried was a Taurus Raging Bull. Everyone in his platoon always wondered how he could be so strong as to swing that sword, but he never gave a solid answer. But besides all that..."

Just listening to him, Centorea could sense the respect and admiration her Master had for his cousin, and wondered if she might challenge this man to an honorable duel sometime. Before her fantasy of an epic battle could play out in her head, she noticed that Adam had ceased his brushing with a thoughtful look on his face. "Cerea. Do you like games?"

With that one statement, they began a game marathon of nothing but RPGs, playing to Centorea's love of story and epic combat, like stories her mother had read to her when she was but a little filly. While the more sci-fi heavy ones were hard for her to get at first, Adam saw her adapt to them like a pro. Inventory management, excellent reflexes, keen perception of enemy weaknesses, and she told Adam that she had never really touched any video games before. This was hard to believe, but Adam yielded on account of her societal upbringing.

The two sat next to each other and reveled in one victory after another, while Gregory could only think to himself about how happy his best friend looked, playing video games with their new housemate.

 **5:12 PM**

Yukino walked inside with a spring in her step. Today, she had been put in charge of bathing the dogs, and she had gotten two Pit Bulls, one Shih-tzu, one Shiba Inu, and three Huskies. The second Husky had been her favorite, what with those sky blue eyes and pearly smile. It made her heart practically melt. In her left hand, she had a bag filled with food she picked up on the way home, including a large salad bowl for Centorea. Her right hand held a bag containing her work clothes for today, ready for a good wash.

"Yoohoo, I'm home, and I hope you guys are hungry!" Yukino yelled into the house, but received no response. Hearing some noise in the living room, she went to investigate, only to find Ms. Smith sitting in a chair, drinking coffee and smiling her way. "Welcome home, but keep it down. They're sleeping." Smith pointed to the couch, where Centorea sat next to the arm on the floor, Adam's head leaning into her chest while her arm wrapped around him and rested on the back of Gregory's neck, the dog having his head in Adam's lap. The noise she heard was the menu music playing for Final Fantasy XV.

Smith set her coffee on a coaster and chuckled lowly. "I thought I'd pop in for a surprise visit, but I found these three knocked out after...what appears to be a LOT of games. Wish I had that kind of free time."

Just as Yukino was going to comment on how cute this looked, she changed her mind once a dreaming Centorea reached her arms up and proceeded to gently pull Adam's face deeper into her bosom, muttering to herself. "Please do with my body what you will. I am all yours, Master."

Slowly but surely, Yukino retrieved two ice packs from the freezer in the kitchen before returning with a wicked frown marring her face. She then proceeded to shove said ice packs down the shirts of both Adam and Centorea.

"Stop molesting my brother in your dreams, dammit!"


	4. Chapter 4

Not Unlike You

Chapter 4

Centorea awoke feeling refreshed after a day of digital adventuring with her Master. Truly, she had never given much thought to video games before the day prior. Though she was a fantastically strong knight in her own regard, she would admit to the thrill of stepping into the shoes of other adventurers to be quite fun.

Stretching her upper body left and right to loosen up, she saw what looked like a lumpy blanket on her hindquarters, slowly moving up and down with the breath of a living creature. Curious, she lifted the blanket to find Adam laying lopsided upon her lower back. Blushing up a storm, Centorea began to panic, thinking back to her rude awakening yesterday, courtesy of Yukino shoving an ice pack down her blouse. Not wanting to incur the wrath of her hostess by accidentally being in intimate contact with Adam once again, Centorea reached for her sword, hoping that poking him with the sheath might rouse him from his slumber. But before she could enact her plan, the blanket stirred lower, revealing Gregory as he popped his head out to greet the day. This gave the embarrassed centaur an idea.

"Sir Gregory, while I am not adverse to such contact with my Master, I'm afraid that Lady Hazama may find our current position to be...less than appropriate. Would you know of a way to wake and move him quietly?" The Akita tilted his head adorably before standing and getting to work. With all the grace of a bulldozer, Gregory ran a full circle around Centorea before headbutting Adam off her back, his head landing dangerously close to her butt. The situation was only made worse when Adam didn't wake up. Rather, he groaned before snuggling up with her left flank, his arms tightly grasping it with his cheek using it as a pillow.

Thoroughly more embarrassed than before, Centorea decided to go with her first plan, but never made it before she felt a pair of teeth sink into her supple buttocks, causing her to jump up, launching Adam up before he released her and had his head knock against the floor, causing him to sit up with a pained moan. "Ow...I hate falling dreams."

Surprisingly enough, today was one of Yukino's days off, and she slept like a log more often than not, so the ruckus hadn't woken her up. This left the task of making breakfast up to Adam, as he had more experience in the kitchen than Cerea. Plus, Gregory didn't have thumbs, so he was right out.

As Adam washed some fruit in the sink, he thought about getting fancy with the presentation, hoping to impress Cerea. His hands halted as he went to grab a knife. "Where did that come from?" He pondered. "Why would I feel the need to impress her? Hmm. Well, I don't have many friends, so I guess it would make sense that I would want to enthuse her in order to maintain a solid friendship. Yes, that must be it."

At the same time he was saying all this, Centorea was sinking into the tub, and as the water reached above her navel, she sneezed, throwing her head forward and smacking the water. Off to the side, Gregory had joined her again, and one could almost say he was laughing on the inside at such a funny sight.

The trio reconvened to the living room after finishing their morning tasks, feasting on bowls of fruit salad with a small topping of whipped cream and a cherry, with Gregory eating gourmet canned food instead of his usual dry food. The news was covering the usual topics before switching over to a headline about the Cultural Exchange Program. While it was a hit in Japan, it wasn't widely accepted by everyone in or out of the country yet. Interviews came from people who were hosting, and those who saw it all as a subtle "invasion" to take over the world. Adam scoffed at the naysayers. "Fools. Had other species wanted to overtake humans, they would have done it a long time ago. But I guess we can't expect total acceptance so soon."

Cerea nodded in understanding, knowing that if any human could empathize with the plight of acceptance amongst an entirely different culture, it would be her Master. Before she could bring up a thought she had while soaking in the bath, she saw that his eyes were glued to the TV, even more so than before. On the screen was a tall, rotund individual who appeared to be of Orcish heritage, with the biggest differences being his prominent tusks, a bushy mustache, and a gentlemanly attire finished with a bowler atop his head.

" _So would you say that you have faced any discrimination since your arrival, sir?"_ The interviewer asked. The large porcine fellow just laughed jovially. _"Oh ho ho! Well I have been the target of stares and murmurs here and there, but who hasn't in their lifetime? Human or otherwise, if you look different in some small capacity, you're bound to get the odd look every now and then. The trick is to accept your difference, and wear it like a badge of courage."_ Adam gasped audibly, causing Cerea to look at him in worry.

"Master, what is the matter? Do you know this Orc?" Adam just stood still before shaking his head fervently, bringing himself back to his senses. "I...I'm not sure. But what he said was familiar, and gave me an idea!" With haste, Adam brought his bowl to the kitchen before running upstairs to grab something. Gregory looked from his food bowl to Adam as he came back holding a strip of black cloth in his left hand, his eyes filled with determination. "Centorea, my good knight, we're going out!"

Shortly after they left, Yukino walked downstairs to find a bowl of fruit salad waiting for her on the kitchen counter, with a sticky note sitting next to it. It read as such:

 _ **Dear Sister,**_

 _ **If you are reading this, then you have found the fruit salad I left you. Also, Cerea and I are going to be out for a bit, so just relax and worry about yourself today.**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Adam**_

 _ **P.S. If Smith comes around, I left a pod ready in the brewer for her coffee.**_

While shocked, Yukino couldn't deny that this was the fastest she'd seen him recover before going back out. Minus the one incident back when he was in High School that left two older kids hospitalized, but that was a whole other can of worms. Smiling at her trip down memory lane, Yukino picked up her bowl and went to sit in her spot on the couch in the living room. "He may not notice it, but that girl seems to have worked some magic on him. But just to be safe, I better call Smith."

A casual stroll is therapeutic. Just letting your mind wander while you let your feet carry where they may. Centorea however, found this walk to be a little out of the norm. Adam had blindfolded himself before the three of them left the house, with Gregory leading him with a leash. While odd, she decided to just roll with it for now, as long as no problems came of it.

Which only lasted for a short while before his "eccentricities" came into play.

Having denied himself of sight, Adam's other senses went into overdrive. Sudden loud noises made both himself and Gregory turn their heads every direction at a moments notice. Delicious smells made Adam put his nose to the air, trying to identify each one.

It was a testament to her strength that Centorea didn't reach over to pet his head, as she found this behavior somewhat adorable. She also noticed that while they were getting plenty of stares, none of it seemed to bug Adam in the slightest. A strange idea, to blind oneself to ignore the looks of others, but the results spoke for themselves.

While passing by a music store, they heard a sudden gasp, but ignored it to continue on their way. That was when Adam's day went from great, and turned into something he'd rather not say out loud. "Holy shit! What the hell? Is that a horse-woman?!" That voice was familiar to Adam, but he kept on walking. "Hey babe, do you think she's got a pussy like a horse or what?!"

This vulgar statement was followed by a nasally, obnoxious female's voice to respond. "Ew, what? Fucking gross! Do you think that beanpole is doing her?!"

Suddenly, Adam stopped. Cerea ignored the couple, but at her Master's halt, she stopped too. Growling was heard, but Gregory looked passive, looking up at his friend. No. The growling was coming from Adam, his left cheek twitching, nostrils flaring, and teeth bared only slightly. Taking a deep breath, Adam turned to the couple and walked up to them.

What happened next was unexpected. She didn't hear what he said, but Cerea definitely saw the offenders get pissed off about something her Master said. While this was going on, the couple were unaware that Gregory was circling their feet, wrapping his leash around their legs. Just as she saw the punk about to punch her Master, Gregory grabbed his end of the leash in his jaws while Adam pulled the other end. The result was the rude couple getting wrangled by the legs, followed by Adam flicking the guy in the forehead, causing him to fall over, taking his girlfriend with him.

Unhooking Gregory from his leash, Adam turned and was led back to Centorea's side. "Amazing how volatile one can be when their lack of intelligence is made obvious." Adam said to himself. "Cerea, could you take my hand? I'm afraid that in my haste, I sacrificed Gregory's leash, so you'll need to guide me." Without a word and shaking like a cooking bag of popcorn, she took hold of his left with her right before continuing their walk, Gregory padding along next to his friends.

"Are you cold, Cerea? You're shaking like a leaf."

Not too far from where the altercation happened, a tall and round individual stroked his mustache in thought as he watched the three friends walk away. "Well Ms. Zombina, I think we can look the other way this time around. Wouldn't you say?"

From the bushes, the undead member of MON stuck her head out. "Damn it, Ed! Would you stop doing that thing you do? I can never be sneaky when you're around!"

"Oh ho ho. My apologies. But I can't help being sensitive to smells, just as much as you can't help teasing poor Manako about her body. Speaking of: I believe our secondary goal today was to get her an apology chocolate for the latest prank you and Doppel saw fit to pull on her and Smith."

The redhead groaned at her elder having such a good memory before climbing out of the bushes, her walk now sullen as she led the way to the nearest confectionery.

A little ways away, Adam sighed in frustration. Sensing her Master's mood drop, Centorea probed for an answer. "Master, were you truly bothered by what they said? Twas mere ignorance that came from their filthy mouths and nothing more."

At first, Adam contemplated what to say, but everything he wanted to say sounded wrong for some reason. "Is there a place we can sit somewhere out of the way? I can articulate better when I have a good seat to think on."

Turning down an alley, they found a small bench next to some vending machines. Retrieving drinks for them, Centorea angled herself where she could sit comfortably in front of Adam, with Gregory taking up a space next to him on the bench. Adam hummed and thought as he drank his can of fizzy lemonade, pondering on what to say about what happened. Seeing no progress in the current situation, Centorea decided to start with her own input and query. "Master. Ever since the signing of the Exchange Between Species Bill, I have heard countless mutterings, and not all of them were too flattering. But I held my head high, because I knew that humans who knew nothing of my culture were just curious, even if not for all the right reasons. So I turned the other cheek and kept walking, because words were just that, and they held no power over me. But those two from before...why did you become agitated by insults not aimed directly at you?"

Sighing once more, Adam lifted his blindfold from his left eye so he could look at his knight. "When I was in High School – back in America – I was unexpectedly popular with a few people, and I had unknowingly made a good number of friends. Unfortunately, a number of those friends had been labeled as social outcasts, so they were ridiculed and bullied regularly. As someone who never had many friends growing up, I felt like I wanted the ones I had to stick around, so like all men of the Belmont Family, I jumped in head first to defend them, whether with logic or fists, I always came out on top." With little warning, Adam tilted his head back and chugged his drink like a seasoned drunk. "My efforts kept them safe, and being only 12 at the time, it surprised quite a few people. Fast forward a year. I was 13 and a senior, and my best friends were moving after graduation, so we decided to celebrate the good times at a local pizza parlor. One last hurrah for me, Brian, and Rachel. Out of all of the friends I made, they were the most memorable."

Tears started to roll down his cheeks. "Zack may have taught me how to wield a sword, but Rachel helped me to refine what I knew into something that was entirely mine, and Brian was always trying to make a joke in the weirdest of places and situations. Had I known what came next, I would have asked them to stay at my house for the night, but I didn't, and it still hurts." Centorea wanted to ask so many questions about who these people were, but kept her silence, recognizing that her Master wasn't quite done with his tale.

"I didn't know at the time, but after graduating, Brian proposed to Rachel, and she said yes. This made what happened bittersweet, in my opinion. As Brian was driving Rachel home, he was run off the road and into a deep ditch. Rachel broke her left arm, and Brian was knocked unconscious. I found out later that it had been set up by a member of the football team that had been obsessed with Rachel. The guy was put on trial, and I was the one whose testimony put him away. Justice was done, but Brian was left in a coma, and he hasn't woken up since. It's been four years now, and Rachel keeps going to his bedside, talking to him, reading books, and just keeping him up to date on how everyone is doing. Even through all that, she still loves him, and she's waiting for the day he opens his eyes and makes a crack about one heck of a hibernation. So...I know we haven't known each other long, but I think you're cool, considerate, and fun to talk to. Just like my oldest friends in America, I want you to stick around, which sets off some old habits from my school days, I guess."

Hearing all this, Centorea felt honored that her Master viewed her as more than just a knight. "Master. You have no need to defend me from mere words. Let the ignorant spout their nonsensical drivel! For in the end, it is those like you that stand at the pinnacle, with a kind heart, and wisdom beyond your peers! And I shall be there next to you! Protecting all you hold dear, my sword shall ring true!"

Her proclamation was followed by a dramatic pose. Adam couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, as it was quite infectious. "In that case, come what may, I'll count on you to help me. I'm sure that we can handle anything the world throws at us, right?" And in that moment, a shiver ran up his back, signaling that he had probably just tempted fate in the most painful way possible.

After another hour of casual exploration around the area, Gregory had signaled that he was hungry, leading Adam to believe now was as good a time as any to head back.

Upon their return, they saw a government limousine pulling away from the front of the house. Curious, they entered the house, and heard Yukino talking to someone in the living room.

"-which brings me to the last thing. I may be registered as your primary host and caretaker, but my job keeps me from home most days, so my brother will be in charge of your well-being when I'm away. And speaking of which: Adam! Come and and meet our new roomie!"


	5. Chapter 5

Not Unlike You

Chapter 5

Sitting opposite of the residents of the house was a new girl. Hair and scales as red as rubies, her tail took up at least 7 meters of floor space. She wore a black tank top, accented by a light pink jacket and a forest green skirt. Her eyes kept shifting nervously around the room, occasionally glancing between Adam, Yukino, and Centorea. "Hello Mr. Belmont. I'm Miia, and I hope we can get along well." Quiet was one word to describe this girl, most definitely.

At first, Adam said nothing. His hair blocked Miia from making direct eye contact. Without warning Adam clapped his hands and gave a sharp whistle, summoning Gregory to his side. Picking the dog up, Adam carried him up to Miia, letting Gregory sniff her face before giving a long lick from her chin to her forehead. "Congratulations are in order Miia. You have officially passed the "Gregory Test"."

Yukino smacked a palm to her face at such randomness, while Centorea rose an eyebrow in curiosity. "Pray tell, Master. Why did I not go through a similar test when I joined your household?"

"Because I rode you into battle, remember? You pretty much became my best friend, second to Gregory. Or was that not a good substitute, my good knight?"

Remembering the events all too well, Centorea had a tinge of pink in her cheeks as she glanced to the side, too embarrassed to meet Adam's gaze. Yukino clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright! I already gave her the grand tour, so now I need you to get out of here and show her around town. And don't give me any sass about just getting back! Cerea, help me for a bit will ya?"

Unceremoniously, Adam and Miia were shown the door, and the two found themselves out and about in the late afternoon. Not feeling up for another grand outing, Adam decided a quick jaunt to the local park would probably be a good start to Miia's stay. That, and the poor girl looked like a nervous wreck, wringing her hands and constantly looking to the ground.

The park was quiet. The only sounds heard were the shallow footsteps of passersby, crickets coming out to play their natural orchestra, and the low hum of the nearby lamps that began to illuminate the surrounding area. Miia and Adam sat side by side in what some would call an uncomfortable silence. A few people glanced their way, making both of them a little self-conscious, but nevertheless, Adam thought making some small talk could ease the tension between them. Too bad he sucked at talking about regular topics.

"Hey Miia. Do you know why the sun sets red?" He asked, causing the girl to look up at him in curiosity.

"Out of all the colors in the spectrum, red travels the farthest. That was the first thing I thought of when I saw you. Your hair and scales are like the moment the sun hits that point where everything is shaded in a fiery, mellow, but passionate color. To note, your eyes compliment this idea as well, as the shade of amber reflects the outlying colors you see at sunset." While he was saying all this, Miia's cheeks were colored pink, ever so slightly, but unnoticed in the light of the time of day.

Not wanting to hog the conversation, Adam asked if there was anything she wanted to talk about.

Miia tried to meet his eyes, but they were still hidden slightly by a messy curtain of black hair. That was when she thought of a topic to work off of. "What color are your eyes? I can't really tell because of your hair." Without missing a beat, Adam lifted his bangs away from his face, causing Miia to stare directly into twin orbs of what she thought was a living storm cloud. Dark gray against a ghostly white face. Miia was both fascinated and entranced by this sight, not realizing she had scooted closer to him on the bench they perched themselves on.

Nearby, Ms. Smith hid herself behind a tree, watching the two with no attempt to hide her suspicion. For a while, they just sat there and talked, she couldn't hear what about though. After a while, they had both gotten up and proceeded to head home. Following them, she failed to notice when, but at some point, Adam and Miia were holding hands the rest of their walk until reaching the house.

Further away, atop the roof of a building adjacent to the park, three individuals were spying on Adam as well with two pairs of binoculars and one telescope. "Ms. Smith is following at a respectable distance, but were we necessary up here? I feel like we're just fueling her ego-driven paranoia with this young man." The shortest of the three put in her two cents, glancing back and forth between their target of interest and her compatriots.

Having seen the moment where Adam revealed his eyes to Miia, the tallest of the three couldn't help but giggle. "Well I think she's just looking out for him because he's too cute for his own good. He reminds me of when Smith was that young. Remember those photo albums Bina-chan found? They could pass for twins if you put them side by side in the photo. Right, Uncle Eddy?"

With a pith helmet replacing his usual bowler, the mustached orcish fellow chuckled. "With notable differences in body aside, I'd have to agree. Though, if I'm to remain an honest gentleman, I'd say he has more of his Grandmother in him than anything else, if his eyes are any indication, on top of his behavior earlier today."

As they got close to home, Adam and Miia heard multiple different barks coming from the front yard. Adam was quite used to this, but Miia was curious, as Gregory seemed to be the only dog at her new place of residence. Slithering ahead, Miia was surprised to find Gregory running around and playing with an Irish Wolfhound, Scottish Terrier, and twin Golden Labrador Retrievers. Sensing their approach, Gregory waltzed up to where Miia was spying on him and sat down, the other dogs following suit. Adam rounded the corner and pulled Miia along, petting each dog on the head as he passed before entering into the house. "Gregory is like the head of the neighborhood watch, but with dogs instead of people, so it's much more efficient."

Yukino popped her head out of the kitchen doorway. "Is Gregory holding another meeting? I heard barking." With a nod from her brother, Yukino shrugged and went back to what she was doing beforehand.

Soon, dinner was ready, and the spread was nothing to sneeze at. Salad skewers with blue cheese dressing, scalloped potatoes with melted mozzarella, pork tenderloin, and a small side of garlic bread and freshly cleaned celery.

After dinner, Adam excused himself and pulled Centorea along to the backyard. Miia stayed behind to help clean the dishes with Yukino. It was quiet for all but a few seconds before Yukino decided to gently grill Miia about her first impressions of everything. "So how are you settling in?"

Miia was still a little apprehensive, but she felt she could be honest with her hostess. "It's...a lot to take in, but I think I'll like it. Adam seems fun, if a little spacey when it comes to small talk. He said my hair and scales remind him of a sunset." She blushed a little remembering their little moment in the park earlier.

Yukino groaned. "Jeez. Well don't get too enamored, because he won't understand or react to flirting. He may wear his heart on his sleeves, but that doesn't mean he'll get why he feels at all. Just try to be his friend, okay? That's something me and a few others can agree that he needs."

As Yukino gave Miia the rundown on Adam's personality and quirks, the boy in question was digging through an old shed that sat in the backyard, Centorea helping him to organize the contents.

"Master, why are we rummaging through this assortment of materials?"

Not looking back, Adam just responded while digging further into the shed.

"I had a thought while eating. We don't really have a home gym or loose weights lying around, and considering our differences in body types, I doubt my Tai Chi practices would translate well."

That last comment made Centorea look at her hindquarters and blush.

"So it occurred to me that I haven't paid attention to some of the left over materials from abandoned projects of the past, and that if stripped down and re-purposed, we could construct a practice area with which to keep ourselves in shape. That, and I can finally make room in here to resume some overdue ideas that have been sitting on the metaphorical back-burner for a while."

Not even a full week past her arrival, and he just kept the surprise train rolling. The fact that he wanted to pay attention to not just his, but her physical fitness and well-being, cemented in her that she had made the right choice in picking Adam as her Noble Master. But as much as she admired his generous nature, a small question still nitpicked at her. It wasn't anything related to the current situation, so without a proper segue, she thought it might be awkward to bring it up. Then she spied the perfect way to bring it up. A flowerbed sitting close to the house.

"Pray tell, are those flowers your doing, Master?"

Looking back to see what she was talking about, Adam saw Centorea staring at the flowers that he helped to keep up. "Not exactly. The flowers are my sister's doing, but the bed was Mom's. After she died, Yukino kept tending to those plants, occasionally having to replace ones that didn't make it, except for the lavender, off all things. No matter the weather, those same flowers have persevered, and I honestly don't know how."

Now with the story in hand, Centorea found her opportunity. "Do you think you could have some sort of connection to them? After all, you share their name." In her head, she berated herself for sounding so base. Being connected to a plant, just because it was also his middle name? Preposterous.

"Maybe." One word is all it took to catch her off-guard. "Both Dad and Yukino once told me that she wanted at least one part of my name to be unique and full of life. It's an interesting thought."

Centorea sighed in relief. Her embarrassment slowly making way for a sense of satisfaction. With her curiosity sated, they began to work on making equipment for their impromptu training yard. Though this was interrupted after two hours when Miia came outside, complaining about being bored. Thinking that they had made enough progress for one day, Adam ushered everyone inside, knowing just the thing to cure Miia's boredom, and to test a theory he had.

One hour of blood, yelps of fear, and a controller being passed around had been quite the experience. After introducing Miia to Bloodborne, Adam learned three things: Gothic horror was not in this girl's wheelhouse, her reaction speed was nothing like an actual snake, and she persisted in the face of defeat, even if she made certain mistakes repeatedly without realizing it.

Her determination had brought a smile to Adam's stoic face, especially after he had given Miia some pointers on how to beat Father Gascoigne on her own. After winning against the madman, Gregory belly-flopped on her lap and Adam gave her a well deserved high five. Somehow, Yukino had gotten involved in the game as well, and considering how poorly Miia started off, everyone else had to stifle their laughter at how abysmal Adam's dear sister was at this game. To elaborate in as few words as possible: Yukino somehow always ended up dying by falling from absurd heights, even though she knew they were around.

One hour turned into multiple as each player tried to outdo the others, but sooner than they realized, midnight had fast approached, and they all went their separate ways to bed.

After brushing her teeth, Miia slithered to her room, but decided to stop by Adam's room first, hoping to thank him for an eventful first day, keeping in mind not to get too close, as warned by Yukino. Lightly knocking on his door, Miia felt something hit her tail, below the edge of her skirt. Looking down, she saw what seemed to be a dog door trying to open, but her body was blocking the way. Backing up a bit, both Gregory and Adam poked their heads through the door and up at her face.

"Good evening Miia. Did you need some help with anything before heading to bed?"

She shook her head. "No. I just wanted to say thank you for everything today. When I first arrived, I was a little scared that you and your sister wouldn't like me, but after less than a day, I feel silly for thinking that at all. You and Yukino are funny, and Centorea is a little stiff, but I can tell she enjoys living here too. From here on out, I'm gonna try and stay positive! So, again, thank you for making my first day a fun one."

Adam smiled up at her, thinking about how much he had actually been smiling since his time as a host first started. "No thanks are necessary Miia. Though I can't promise it'll be as fun all the time, I'll try to make sure you and Centorea are not bored, as is my responsibility. Pleasant dreams, I'll see you in the morning." After wishing her a good night, he and Gregory withdrew their heads from the dog door, presumably to hit the proverbial hay.

"Good night." Miia said to them through the door.

Finding her bedroom as cozy as her room back home, she laid down for a good nights rest. Her dreams that night consisted of a Lamia princess and a wayward knight with stormy eyes.

 **Author's Note**

 _If Ya'll are wondering: no I'm not dead. I've just been lacking inspiration, and management where I work has been difficult to deal with, so ideas for this story have been hard to concentrate on or come by. I can't promise that another chapter will be out before the year ends, but I'm gonna try my hardest to keep this going, because I've got plans for this story that are heading for strange places, if I can keep the brain train on the tracks. Also, please leave me some reviews that actually say more than "Keep it up" or "Another great chapter". I need me some feedback to keep my brain from dying!_


	6. Chapter 6

Not Unlike You

Chapter 6

A week passed fairly quick. Miia adjusted herself to the house, and got to know everyone better. Though, if asked, Yukino would say she was a little peeved about how "relaxed" she began to get around Adam. To the consternation of Yukino and Centorea, Miia had started to get clingy on Adam's arms whenever they sat close to each, and both had caught her peeking into his room while he slept on two different nights. While Miia had tried to keep her heart distant, she couldn't help the well of affection she seemed to be developing for the strange young man.

Such emotions led to the situation Adam currently found himself in. He had woken up to coils of pure muscle entangling his whole body, with the only free limb being his right arm. Wriggling around, Adam was only able to get to a position where he was looking at the ceiling. Sighing, he turned his head to the left to find Miia snuggling him like he was a heated body pillow. Reaching as far as he could in his position, Adam began to gently tap Miia on the forehead, poke her on the cheek, and then boop her on the nose. The last one got a wiggle of her nose and a giggle out of her, but nothing else.

With no sign of her joining him in the waking world, he decided to implement Protocol G. Snapping his fingers twice with his free hand, Adam saw Gregory rise from his own bed before walking over to where Adam could see him in his peripheral vision. "My friend, I seem to be in a bit of a bind. Mind lending me a paw?"

What happened next was not exactly what Adam had in mind, or thought would honestly happen. Apparently, Gregory took "lending a paw" as a sign to jump up on the bed, circle around to Miia, and begin punching her in the back, repeatedly, with both paws going as fast as a professional boxer in a title match. This had the unintended consequences of not only waking her up with a loud yelp, but she also tightened her grip on Adam before rolling the both of them out of the bed and onto the floor.

Hearing the loud thump of an impact with the floor, Yukino could only guess what happened, and grabbed an ice pack from the freezer, just in case. After going upstairs and opening the door to see Miia entangling her little brother on the floor, she just smiled and let out a disturbingly low laugh. "Oh I just LOVE being right this early in the morning." She then proceeded to shove the ice pack betwixt Miia's bosom.

After a warm bath, Miia came downstairs looking relaxed before shooting a stink-eye at Yukino, who just responded with a smirk and a look that said "The Predator Is Me". Cheeks puffed in frustration, Miia helped herself to some cereal before taking her place at the table to Adam's left. While stoic on the outside, Centorea found herself irked on the inside at Miia's increasing level of possessiveness towards her Master. If anything, she would rather her Master cling to her back as they both rode off to an unknown destination with nothing to guide them but a wayward wind. Such thoughts were truly unbecoming of a knight, but Centorea kept imagining herself in unfamiliar territory, her thoughts getting more risque as seconds went by.

Not paying attention to everyone else, Adam had his eyes planted firmly on his sketchbook, his pencil swiftly moving across the paper. After losing at another impromptu staring contest with Yukino, Miia set her sights on what Adam was doing.

"Whatcha drawing, Darling? It looks a little complicated." Complicated was one way to put it. Sparing her a glance to show that he had heard her, Adam began pointing out aspects of his latest brain child. "These are just some preliminary designs for a pet project I left alone for a while. I'm just touching them up a little and reworking where the joints interlock so there's no excess stress on my limbs. Though, as things are now, I lack the means of making all the little bits necessary to get started."

What he had sketched out looked similar to a backpack, with the key differences being the rig that attached to the cranium, along with the two robotic appendages that extended over both shoulders.

"Ahem," Yukino brought everyone's attention to her as she stood from her seat. "Today is one of the rare days off that I don't want to sit around and be lazy. So I suggest we all go out and do something together. Any suggestions?"

Before anyone else could say anything, Miia already blurted out the first thing she could think of. "Why don't we go shopping for new clothes? Not to be a downer, but when has Darling ever NOT looked like he was dressed like L from Death Note?"

Adam looked down at his attire, unsure whether he should feel offended or not. "I have more than just one outfit. I just don't like dressing in an unnecessary fashion without reason."

Centorea took on a thinking pose, with her left hand gently tapping her chin. "While it is said that variety is the spice of life, I would agree with Master more-so. Why dress for an occasion if there is none to be had?" Adam nodded in agreement, giving Centorea a gleeful feeling of validation.

Yukino chose that moment to interrupt, before Miia could put a metaphorical boot in her mouth. "Okay, everyone shut your yapping tubes! It's been a while since I went shopping with my sweet, little, pudding of a baby brother, so strap in, because we're hitting the town!"

At that exact moment, Adam knew he was gonna be stuck carrying all the bags by the end of this trip. How did he know? Well, ever since they first met in his younger years, Yukino had the habit of using cute terms or "pet names" whenever she wanted him to do something for her that was arduous, taxing on the muscles, or she was too lazy to do it herself. Bottom line: she was caring, but manipulative when she wanted to be. Adam never fell for it, of course. He just always thought that it would be easier to go with the flow and get stuff done. Time management was no joke to him.

Before heading out, Adam took the time to look up shops that specialized in clothing options for both human AND extra-species individuals, wrote down the addresses, and then let Yukino take the lead. The first stop on their trip was a new hat shop opened by a mouse girl and an old rabbit man called "Hopper's Hat House." Inside, there were hats galore. Top hats, bowlers, fedoras, a trilby for every occasion, and that was only the beginning. While the others were casually browsing and trying things on, Adam went perusing through the Men's section, admiring the detail on some of the top hats, when all of a sudden, something caught his eye in a glass case near a hat tree.

Beneath the glass were three hats: a red and black striped fedora, a blue newsboy cap that had black splatters on it, and a white bucket hat that seemed too ordinary for such a display. Coming up on the other side of the case was the old rabbit man, a feather duster in his hand. "Interested in these beauties, young man?"

Having been caught staring, Adam averted his eyes and nodded in affirmation. The old man smiled as he opened a small window on the case to begin dusting the hats. "It's not every day we get custom orders like these. The order came from someone with a bit too much money on their hands. I say that, of course, because when the order was done, he changed his mind and said "Keep the money, pops. Just put a good price on 'em until someone snatches them up". So, if you're interested, I'm selling all three for ten thousand yen. Not a bad deal, eh?"

Without a second thought, Adam and the others made their purchases before heading on their way. Yukino didn't really find anything she wanted, so she just decided to buy a yellow sun hat that Miia had been eyeing, paying an extra few yen for a cord to be attached, so in the instance of a windy day, Miia wouldn't lose it. Centorea had no intention of getting a hat, but when presented with a red cloche hat that matched the red ribbon she wore in a bow under her blouse collar, she couldn't deny that it somehow worked. The fact that Adam liked the hat on her was also a factor toward getting it.

Their second stop was at a general clothing store. Unlike the hat shop, Yukino and Miia had immediately grabbed Adam and strong-armed him into trying a few different outfits on. While silent at the moment, Centorea couldn't help but wonder what her Master would look like in something other than his normal attire.

Having been shoved into a changing room, Adam begrudgingly tried on clothes that had been foisted on him: two pairs of khaki cargo shorts and pants, a sky blue long sleeve button-up shirt, and a camouflage print tank top. At the very least, he didn't have to try on too many things. The last trip with his sister had him in a booth for almost a whole hour. The memory made him shiver.

After trying out the new clothes, Miia couldn't stop gushing about how "manly" he looked, getting the odd stare from a few other customers nearby, and Yukino had to cover her mouth before she caused an incident like what her brother went through the other day with Centorea. The aforementioned centaur couldn't help but admire how his pale complexion made the simple button-up shirt look distinguished, or how the tank top showed off how toned his upper body was. It was...tantalizing, one might say, if she were not in denial.

From then onward, the rest of the trip had been about the girls, and having "called it" earlier in his head, Adam had been the one to carry almost all the bags. "Almost" being the key word, as Centorea had happily taken it upon herself to relieve Adam of two or three bags.

The last two stops were a little awkward for separate reasons. The shoe store had been weird since Miia didn't have feet, and Centorea didn't like anything keeping her hooves from feeling the ground beneath her. Yukino had a laugh, and Adam couldn't help but remember the time in his childhood where he refused to wear shoes for a while.

The lingerie store was...interesting to say the least. Adam had decided to blindfold himself, even though he had been in the vicinity of naked women before without issue. He believed in manners, and he didn't want his wandering eyes to catch the gaze of someone else, thus creating a situation where he could be mislabeled as a pervert.

While Miia was trying on some frilly bras, Yukino decided to try and get Centorea something too, much to the knight's frustration. "Lady Hazama, I'll have you know that Centaur women don't normally wear braziers!"

Yukino could only sigh. "Okay, I get that, but every time you start running, your sweater puppies bounce around like it's New Years Eve, and I'd hate for you to pop a button and lose what dignity you have in public."

Embarrassed at being called out by her hostess, Centorea surrendered and was promptly dragged to the section for larger species, leaving Adam to sit in a chair across from the changing room Miia occupied. Silence reigned for all of a minute before Miia poked her head out, wanting a second opinion from Yukino on a bra she wanted, but she only saw Adam, sitting in his chair and waiting patiently for the chance to leave. Seeing the young man of her affection alone gave her an idea that would be worth the ice pack torture if she was caught.

"Ahem. Darling, could you come here for a second?" Miia whispered. Having heard her with how little background noise there was, Adam got up and mentally counted the exact steps towards the curtain, wondering what Miia could want of him. Without warning, Miia grabbed Adam by the shoulders and pulled him into the booth, closing the curtain behind him.

Lifting his blindfold to assess the situation, Adam found his eyes drawn to the pattern on Miia's new bra. It was striped horizontally with light blue and white with a tiny white bow in the center, where both mammaries met the middle. Looking up, he saw Miia staring back expectantly. "So...what do you think? Do I look good in this?"

Now, Adam was no expert in fashion, nor was he any good at picking up sarcasm, or taking hints, or master of any social norms that others were accustomed to. What he was good at, however, was color coordination. "Accompanied by the right outfit, I think this bra in particular will look quite nice."

Miia's cheeks flared in frustration. "Well yeah, but I want to know what you think about ME in this bra. Do I look good in it or not?"

Looking Miia in the eyes, something clicked in his head. Miia was looking for a reassurance of her physical appearance, probably from a lack of confidence. Adam looked at her bosom for a second before returning to her eyes. "I think you look nice. Though this bra compliments you nicely, it seems to squeeze you a bit much, as your breasts seem to be leaking slightly out of the top."

Having had ulterior motives before, Miia didn't give much thought about the size of her bra before Adam said something. Then her eyes gained a mischievous gleam to them. This situation could be a perfect chance to complete her "Seduction Plan".

"Oof. Now that you mention it, it does feel a bit tight. Would you mind helping me get it off?" But before she could turn her back to him, he reached out and held her close, catching her off guard. Was he finally giving into his urges? Did he want her body like any hot-blooded man would crave a woman like her? Her heart pounded in excitement, but just as quickly as he grabbed her, Adam ran a single finger up her back and unclasped her bra in one clean movement before releasing her. Adam quickly turned around and left the booth without a word, Miia's bra falling to the floor as he closed the curtain.

Looking down at the fallen clothing article, Miia could only think about how fast it had all happened, and then her brain summarized her feelings in two words, whispered under her breath.

"So cool..."

By the time Adam sat back down, Yukino had come back with Centorea in tow. It turned out that for bust sizes like that of the blonde centaur, custom orders were required, as most women who came in were not as...gifted as she was in the chest department.

Seeing her brother where she left him, Yukino decided to hurry Miia along so they could finish their shopping trip and head home. Miia was a tad upset that her plan to seduce Adam hadn't followed through, but she was amazed by how he unhooked her bra with no effort and walked away without looking back. If anything, this cemented an image of a smooth gentleman in her head, and she couldn't help the swell in her chest at the thought of Adam taking her in his arms once again, stroking her hair and leaning in for a tender kiss.

While Miia was lost in her fantasy, the walk home was silent, with the exception of the general noise around them, and the sounds of Centorea's hooves upon the ground. To Adam's relief, Centorea offered to carry half of the bags accrued on the shopping spree, leaving his shoulders less stiff upon arriving home.

Separating himself from the group, Adam went to his room to sort his new duds. His closet was a tad boring to most people who didn't know him personally. With a few polo shirts amongst dozens of plain white long-sleeve shirts, Adam had an easy time finding everything, including new spots for his increased wardrobe. The new pants would be folded and put in the dresser, and the hats would sit on a shelf that had been empty for some time.

As he was sorting everything, Miia slithered in, hoping to have some alone time with him, and to ask a very important question. Without looking, Adam had already heard her enter, and inquired her purpose in entering his sanctum, though not so formally.

"What's up, Miia?"

Her eyes kept going back and forth in a nervous way, but with a shake of he head, Miia steadied her nerves. "How did you do it?"

Not done with his closet, (since he was still rearranging his shirts) Adam rolled his hand in the air, telling Miia that she needed to elaborate further, as he didn't know what she was referring to.

"Back in the changing room earlier, you unhooked my bra so quick that it was like magic! How?!"

Judging by her tone, Adam could recognize her frustration in not figuring it out. Sighing, he decided to finish organizing his clothes after a short story time. He walked over to his bed, sat down, and pat the area next to him, indicating that he wanted Miia to sit with him. After being seated, Adam regaled her of a short time in his past.

"Back when I was still going to school in America, I had a friend who was being harassed by a group of cheerleaders. Unfortunately, I was taught to never hit a woman, so I had my friend Brian try to defuse the situation with his talent in humor. This was a misstep in judgment. He stealthily moved behind the cheerleaders, and in an instant, he had unclasped their bras through their shirts before I could blink. He then proceeded to run away, doing his best impression of Curly Joe as he fled."

Miia had, in all honesty, not expected such a strange answer. What she thought she'd hear would be a story about an ex-girlfriend who taught him the trick out of a need for some quick hanky-panky.

"Neither me or Rachel ever found out how he got away without punishment, but he had a knack for info gathering, so we just assumed he had blackmail material and left it at that. Other than that, I asked him how he did the thing, and a few weeks of practicing with a mannequin bore a new trick up my long white sleeves. The day I got it right on the first try, he was crying a little, though I never understood why."

The more Miia learned about him, the more questions she had, and then said questions were replaced by fantasies of Adam in a shining suit of armor, carrying her over the threshold of a castle. Suffice to say, she was smitten. He was charmingly eccentric, handsome in his own way, and though he didn't really catch on to her flirting, she was determined to get her feelings across, no matter how long it took.


	7. Chapter 7

Not Unlike You

Chapter 7

Three days. Miia had been trying for three whole days to (more actively) flirt with Adam, and she was starting to get a tad peeved at his lack of amorous reaction. For crying out loud, she was jealous that Centorea was able to take a bath at the same time as him, so she tried to do the same, only to be met with a friendly hello, offer to help wash her back, and idle conversation about philosophy while sitting in the bath. This left the poor girl burnt out, so she decided to just do what she normally did, and hoped that slow exposure to her"Sexiness" would wear him down...eventually.

Speaking of Adam, he had finished the outdoor training area that he started on, and was currently doing pull ups while Centorea practiced her swordplay on a crude dummy he had pieced together for her.

Unnoticed by the two, Gregory was trying to dig underneath the back porch, sniffing wildly at something he had found. Not having any luck at getting the confounded thing, he padded over to Centorea as she was toweling off her face, and he whined to get her attention.

"Hm? What seems to be the matter Sir Gregory?"

In response, he ran over to the back porch and tried (once more) to stuff his snout underneath it. Centorea could only stare in confusion before turning to Adam, hoping to get an explanation on his canine companion's quirky behavior.

"Master, I would hate to interrupt, but Sir Gregory seems to have found something, and his persistence to retrieve it might get him hurt. Might you know what he is after?"

Grunting as he finished a set, Adam lowered himself before joining Cerea to stare at Gregory. "He hasn't done this in a while. Not since his favorite ball rolled under there, but that was before you came around, and he mostly likes to roll it around in my room now, so whatever is under there, it's probably a squirrel or something."

Getting on his hands and knees, Adam peeked under the porch, expecting to see a small furry rodent. What he saw, however, was a large pair of reflective blue-green eyes staring back at him, the body of the creature hidden by shadows. He blinked, and it blinked back. He dug into the dirt a little, trying to get closer to the creature, and was quickly joined by Gregory. The boy and his dog both began digging frantically.

"Cerea, would you look in the shed for my bug catching net? I'm not sure what it is, but it looks small enough where I could catch it with an elementary tool."

As he issued the directive, he didn't notice that Miia had come out to join them, and they were both staring at Adam's toned posterior as he stayed bent toward the ground. Shaking her head, the centaur got back to the task at hand.

Just as she had her hand on the net, a shriek and canine yelp could be heard outside the shed. Backing up with haste, Centorea was able to turn around, only to find that her Master was gone, Miia had fallen on the ground, and Gregory was trapped in a hug of fear from Miia.

"Prithee, what happened Miia? Where did Master go?" Instead of replying right away, Miia just laid there shivering, before Gregory stretched his face upward and licked her face, snapping her out of her trance.

At first she only spouted gibberish, but regained herself after Gregory gave her a sharp headbutt to her cheek. "It was a slime! I was holding Gregory for Darling, he had his head under the porch, and then WOOSH, it jumped out, captured him, and then it ran inside!" She went from panicked to sobbing in no time. Just when she was about to burst into tears, Gregory struggled out of her grip and ran inside, barking up a storm.

Grabbing her sword once more, Centorea handed Miia the bug net. "If what you say is true, then it should be no match for us. After all, if games have taught me anything, it's that slimes are one of the weaker races, and can be dealt with quite easily. Now steady yourself Miia, for we run to aid Sir Gregory in his rescue of Master. To Arms!"

With little thought, the duo rushed in to assist their comrade of the canid persuasion. Unfortunately, this was their downfall. Little more than two minutes into their battle, Gregory gave up on something he couldn't bite or headbutt, so he left the girls to fight instead, leaving them both sweaty and heaving on the floor. To add insult to injury, the gelatinous blue fiend began to molest them both, sensually taking in any fluids that it could reach from its enemies bodies.

Before any more action that could possibly ruin the anyone's mind with erotic frivolity happened, Adam reappeared, looking fresh as a daisy, and finishing off a large bottle of water in his right hand. After re-hydrating, a growl was emitted from his throat. A sign that Centorea recognized from once before. Her Master was pissed off.

The growl got the creature's attention, as its eyes went from the work it had been doing on the girls and diverted to Adam, his wrath apparent. Striking a dramatic pose, Adam stared down the slime with much fervor. Neither opponent moved for what seemed like minutes, but it was truly only a few tense seconds before the amorphous antagonist made its move. Without a hint of hesitation, the slime started to swell in size as it detached from the girls, and slowly made its way forward.

Now it only stood fifteen feet apart from Adam, his pose never wavering. But then something unexpected happened. It wiggled around, seemingly struggling with itself, before suddenly bursting outward, flecks of slime going all over the place, even temporarily blinding Adam. He reached up to wipe the offending substance from his eyes, but once cleared was quite surprised to find that the slime was more than it appeared at first.

Now standing an inch or two above his maximum height, the slime had taken on a more human appearance, and obviously female, if the figure she was sporting was anything to go off of. Her one yellow-tipped, green pseudopod had turned to three, and while one remained on top of her head, the other two fell down around her like a facsimile of hair. Her body was a semi-transparent blue, and her eyes remained that same blue-green he saw earlier. The last surprise was she was now standing in the same pose Adam had been using before he got blasted in the eyes.

While surprising, Adam was not deterred. He took on a different pose, hoping the menacing aura he let off would cause his feminine adversary to back off. This didn't work, as she just copied the new pose, taking a step forward in the process. Back and forth, the poses went, until their faces were mere inches apart, their chests right up against each other.

You could cut the tension in the air with a knife, as the human and the slime girl stared each other down. Miia was about to sneak up and pull a surprise attack, but stopped when she heard Adam say one word. One word was all it took to make everything cease, tension, menace, and all.

"Boop." Right where the slime girl had made a nose for her new form, Adam gently poked it with his right index finger. Everyone (including the slime) stared at Adam in confusion as he calmly turned around and started walking out of the living room, only to come back shortly with a shop vacuum in tow. After plugging it in, he handed the nozzle to Centorea and handed two damp dish towels to Miia.

"Luckily, nothing got on any of the electronics, but the coffee table and couch could use some love, along with that section of the floor, and...I think that bit of the ceiling above-" A small glob of blue slime fell on his face before he could finish his sentence. "Never mind. I'm going to start running a bath and prep some towels for us. Cerea, you'll vacuum up the slime that our guest ejected, and Miia, you'll follow up with a damp cloth to get the residue."

As he made his way to the bathroom, he yelled back one more order. "Make sure you keep an eye on her too!" Of course, after saying that, the two girls looked around, only to find the slime was missing from the living room. Centorea and Miia looked panicked at first, but remembered how easily Adam defused the situation moments ago, so they both took a deep breath and just started cleaning. The faster they got done, the sooner they could hunt down the slime girl.

Meanwhile, the bath was starting to fill up nicely, and Adam could faintly hear the sound of the shop-vac running, which meant that he could start cleaning off by himself. The water from the detachable shower head was lukewarm, and felt calming as it ran down his scalp; his shaggy mess of a hairdo hung long and wet, like a mountain dog after a bath. Rubbing the lavender scented shampoo into his hair, he relaxed entirely when the scent hit his nostrils. With the lather thick and ready for a rinse, Adam reached for the shower head, but stopped upon the feel of hands upon his head, and two shapely (and cold) orbs on his back.

Adam went stock still. He could still hear the vacuum running, which meant Miia and Cerea were still in the process of cleaning. This left only one "person" as the culprit of this intrusion. Clearing his hair (with shampoo included) from his eyes, Adam turned his head to find a familiar set of eyes staring back at him. The slime girl had followed him, and was now rubbing his scalp, lathering the shampoo even more than before, and all with what looked like a smile on her face. Surprised, but not deterred, Adam reached for the soap to scrub down his body. As he went from face, to shoulders, and then his stomach, he felt the scrubbing on his head stop. The slime girl hugged her arms around him and began to rub him down from face to stomach. Not only did this confuse Adam, but he noticed that the soap residue and excess moisture were disappearing from his skin as she went along, not to mention he could feel an increase in the size of two "somethings" squished against his back.

Having a few more pieces in the puzzle that was this slime, Adam began to run through the facts in his head: 1. She took shape as human as possible, so she must have had encounters with others before getting here. 2. Her movements indicated a copycat mentality, which meant that her interactions with others must have been limited, and this was how she learned. Lastly, her body mass seemed to depend upon moisture she absorbs through bodily contact; water, sweat, etc.

With that last realization, his earlier anger seemed misplaced to him. This Slime hadn't been assaulting his friends, she was just looking for moisture to replenish her body's semi-solid constitution.

Internally nodding to himself, Adam continued his self-cleaning, the Slime copying along the way.

Just as he finished, the thundering of hooves came from down the hall. Centorea and Miia burst into the bathroom looking flushed from worry. Their eyes darted everywhere before landing on Adam and his toned back, just as he was about to soak and let his mind wander. Miia drooled a little at seeing her "Darling" in the buff, while Centorea barely maintained her stoicism. While having had the advantage of seeing him naked more than Miia, Centorea couldn't help but blush at the handsome figure before her.

Before Miia could pounce on the opportunity presented to her, she noticed the slime sitting next to the tub, the pseudopod on her head dipping into the water. Miia hissed at the gelatinous girl, trying to appear intimidating. Sorry to say, she wasn't intimidating in the slightest, which was further compounded by the fact that Adam stepped out of the tub, walked up to Miia, and flicked her on the forehead. Distracted by pain, Miia whined while Adam got in her face.

"No. That's a bad Miia. We don't hiss at company unless they're either a door-to-door salesman, or someone who threw a bucket of ice water on us."

With his punishment finished, Adam got right back in the tub and sank down into the water and let the warmth sooth his muscles. While that had happened, Centorea had stripped down and put her clothes in the laundry basket, and began to wash herself and Gregory, who followed her in at a more relaxed pace than before. Miia wanted to complain about why Adam was being so relaxed around this new girl, but her train of thought quickly changed rails as she remembered that he was naked, which would make this a prime opportunity for seduction, if not for the fact that they weren't alone. But that's when she thought up the perfect plan to catch her love by surprise. All she had to do was clean up, relax, and then wait for the right moment to strike.

Fifteen minutes go by, and everyone is now sporting the latest in towel fashion as they retreat to their individual rooms to get dressed. At least, that's what should have happened. As soon as Centorea shut the door to her room, Miia slowly slithered down the hall towards Adam's room, quietly opened the door, slithered in, and then promptly shut and locked the door behind her.

"Hm? Did you need something, Miia?" Adam asked, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs. She put on the best pout she could. "Darling, I may have gotten too relaxed in the bath. My arms are super tired and I can't dry myself properly like this. Could you help me?"

Without a second thought, he just said "Okay", and got to work on her head, pulling out a spare towel he kept in his closet for emergencies. Her long scarlet locks went to and fro as Adam carefully rubbed her head down. Step One of Miia's plan was complete. Now on to Step Two. "Oh dear, I'm feeling kind of dizzy... whoa!" With a swift turn and deft hands, Miia quickly loosened her towel and toppled on top of Adam, pinning him to the bed; the only thing separating her bosom from where they lay on his stomach was her towel, now draped over Adam. His eyes widened slightly as he rose up on his elbows to look Miia in the eye. She could barely feel it, but she could tell his heart had started beating faster at that moment.

Adam sat up more before rolling Miia over in his lap and bending his face down towards hers. Was this it? Could this be her moment of victory? Ha! As if.

Touching his forehead to hers, he hummed to himself before slipping out from under Miia. "You don't seem to be running a fever, but you do feel a bit warmer than usual, so just to be safe, I'll run and get you a bottle of water. Don't move, I'll be right back."

Naked, laying on a boy's bed, and metaphorically blue-balled, Miia could only sigh in frustration as she stared up at the ceiling. "Rats..."


End file.
